A Siren's Story
by Allie B
Summary: Talpa has been defeated. Kayura is training the remaining three warlords as her disciples. The Ronin are paranoid of another attack. Some people are not happy with the way things are going. Mild shounen-ai warning (gets much worse later )_^)


Foreword: I know, this story seems to run in circles, if it doesn't seem to be sprinting. I'm working on this as best I can, please don't hate me. And, just in case if you're wondering:  
  
Nix-a Nordic mermish being, the males can appear human or reptilian.  
  
Vodnik-a Russian mermish being, normally seen with green hair. They are hostile towards humans and have been known to take on the appearance of a friend to lure a person into the water. They then hold the person under until they drown.  
  
The shounen-ai warning is only there because I don't want to be flamed. There isn't a lot of romance at this point, but I believe the third chapter brings it all out. Main pairing: Cye and Ryo.  
  
Oh, and as a by-note, Peisinoe is actually the name of a "real" siren from Grecian mythology. Her name means "the persuasive".  
Summer nights in Japan were always comfortable to Cye. Regardless of whatever mood he may be in, all he had to do was take a step outside and all his cares would just go away. Except...tonight...something was different.  
  
It had been a little over a month now since Talpa was finally destroyed. It was still a shock to Cye, and his friends, the other Ronins. No one was quite sure what might happen now, considering the Dynasty never was destroyed. When Talpa was finally struck down, Kayura had said that the Dynasty was no longer evil. Ryo decided it was no longer necessary, then, to eliminate it. Since that day, everyone was a little different.  
  
It was no secret that neither Sage nor Kento were very happy with Ryo's decision. For once, they both agreed that it was possible more evil warlords could be in hiding and were simply waiting for the right moment to take Talpa's place. For this reason, the five resolved to continue living together until the possible threat was no longer. This didn't appease the pair, however. Sage continued to bring up instances of Lord Saber Strike, Saranbo, and the Sun Devil. It was obvious Ryo was about to snap. When it appeared that Ryo could take no more, Cye always intervened.  
  
The only one to appear even remotely happy about the recess in fighting was Rowen. He had confided in Cye earlier that he was tired of fighting the Warlords, and he was glad that they crossed over to the "good side". Rowen was worried for them, however, for he still mourned the loss of Anubis. It was obvious that the passing of both the mysterious white- haired Ancient and then Anubis was still on everyone's minds, though some were better at hiding their concern than others. Rowen had thought at one point of a connection of an evil turning good with sacrifice. He didn't want anything to happen to the remaining three warriors from the Dynasty.  
  
Feeling more or less suffocated with his thoughts, Cye practically jumped downstairs to get to his coat and then the back door. Ryo gave him an inquisitive look when Cye rushed past, but he paid it no mind. He had to get outside, to the lake. He had to calm his nerves, his mind, and he'd jump right into the inky waters if that's what it took. It never reached that level of severity before, but Cye was ready and willing if he felt the need.  
  
It being a little past ten in the evening, the moon was already high in the sky, casting an enchanting cerulean glow to the surface of the lake. A cool breeze ruffled Cye's hair, and a smile played at his lips. He could never thank Mia enough that her house had a lake behind it.  
  
"Cye...?" A voice asked quietly from behind, startling the boy. He mentally jumped and turned to see Ryo, his feet still bare, but his coat hanging loosely in one hand. He looked completely baffled. It was rather adorable, and Cye almost laughed.  
  
"Ryo? What?" Cye asked, smiling, raising an eyebrow. Ryo blinked.  
  
"Is something wrong? You kinda just tore through the living room and out the door. Oddly enough, you decided to come out back here. I thought, at the speed you were goin', you had to go out the front door. It was like you were late for some appointment, or something..." Ryo said, his voice rising barely, a sure sign of his obvious confusion. Cye smiled, and shook his head.  
  
"I'm just...confused, I guess. No, confused isn't the word I'm looking for..." Cye said, pulling his earlobe. Ryo blinked again and walked over to Cye, tilting his head.  
  
"Why don't you explain what's bothering you and maybe we can find a word for it." Ryo said. Cye chuckled. He took hold of Ryo's hand and pulled him down to sit with him on the grassy shore.  
  
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where to start, or even if I can put any of what's zooming through my head into intelligible words." Cye said and shrugged.  
  
"Well, just tell me what you can, then, hmm?" Ryo said, nodding, urging Cye on. Cye rubbed his chin, thinking.  
  
"Okay...well, hmm...Ryo, do you ever feel that somehow we're wrong? No, wait, not wrong. Um, mistaken may be a better term." Cye said. Ryo scowled.  
  
"Wrong? Um, I mean, mistaken? About what?" Ryo asked.  
  
"About the Dynasty. I don't want to seem paranoid, but I don't think we're really done yet, ya know? I mean, you know how Kento keeps saying that there has to be more soldiers there? I believe him." Cye said. Ryo rolled his eyes and was about to speak, but Cye cut him off short. "No, hear me out! Look, we know Talpa never did anything for himself by himself, right? He had his four warlords, then Badamon, and not to mention the legions of soldiers that never seemed to lie down and die. And I really hate to bring this up; I know Sage has been bugging you terribly about it, but what about Saranbo? And Saber Strike? And some others that we didn't even find out about until a couple weeks ago! Like Gash, who attacked Mia and Yuli when we were all busy elsewhere. And those Sand Strikers that Kento only mentioned last month. We had no idea those guys even existed!" Cye said. Ryo sighed.  
  
"I understand Cye. Don't you think I take all that into consideration? To be honest, it scares the crap outta me. Um, you don't have to tell anyone that part..." Ryo said, and blushed lightly. Cye shook his head. "Look, I know there are other wackos out there that might think about continuing the fight against humanity. I know this. Remember? The Dynasty powers its legions of soldiers with the negative energy of humans. They need our greed and hate to continue. And I know that there are plenty of other warriors behind those gates that would give the right half of their brains to keep doing what Talpa was." Ryo said, a slight catch in his voice. Cye tilted his head, his eyes hard on Ryo's form. "Cye, I know and understand everything everyone's saying to me. But...you don't understand. There's so much I'd love to just come out and tell you, but I'm not about to let myself break down and bitch about everything that bothers me." Cye scowled.  
  
"Ryo, if you've got something to say, say it. I'm here for you and don't you ever think that I would ever turn you away." Cye muttered fiercely, harshly grabbing one of Ryo's hands. Ryo's eyes widened.  
  
"Cye..." Ryo began. A sudden splash a few feet away broke the moment and both boys turned their heads towards the direction the sound came from. "What was that?" Ryo asked as he slowly made his way onto his feet. Cye remained on the ground, cautious and waiting for a follow-up sound to its predecessor.  
  
Nothing seemed disturbed in the area, but Ryo had learned early on that nothing ever seemed the way it actually was. He inspected the area closer, dropping to his hands and knees to peer into the lake. Didn't help a bit, considering at night the lake appeared darker and deeper than a black hole.  
  
"Ryo, come on." Cye said, quickly bouncing up to his feet. Ryo turned to look behind him and nodded. Whatever had been there wasn't going to make itself known now. It was probably just a frog or something anyway. Ryo accepted Cye's hand up and the two took one last look at the lake before turning towards the house.  
  
"We're probably just paranoid, huh, Cye? I mean, would it really have been that farfetched to think it was just the wind?" Ryo said, nudging Cye in the ribs. Cye shook his head and smiled.  
  
"Yeah, we're both totally off our rockers. Let's get inside now, before we decide a cricket's gonna come out at us with a pair of katanas." Cye grinned. For this rare moment of bliss, neither Cye nor Ryo worried. They laughed all the way back inside, where they both said their "good- nights" and both headed towards their rooms. **************************************************************************** ** The dark figure hidden just a few feet away from the peaceful lakeshore was scowling. He was not pleased. He was angry with himself and with the two boys he had just been observing. He should not have been so sloppy to have almost been caught like that. His lady would be livid when he would go back to report. Slowly, he slipped quietly into the dark waters and kicked off, far out to what seemed to be the other shore. In fact, there was an underwater tunnel that had been constructed nearly a month ago, unknown to the on-shore inhabitants.  
  
"Damn..." He thought, and squeezed his eyes shut. He had seriously been hoping that the five human warriors would have gone their separate ways by now. He was sorely disappointed.  
  
"Malchus! You've taken much longer than you should have. What's happened?" A voice called from ahead. It was still rather muffled, considering Malchus still had his head under water. He pushed forward a little and surfaced, blinking the water from his eyes. A green haired male was looking at him, his head tilted with a curious expression.  
  
"Funny, I never thought you came out beyond the gates, Ash." Malchus smirked. Ash scowled.  
  
"No time for your pathetic excuse for humor, Malchus. Lady Peisinoe wants to know what's keeping you." Ash flicked his wet, green hair from his eyes and sighed. "We're in trouble, aren't we, Nix?" Malchus stuck his tongue out.  
  
"Don't call me that, Vodnik." Malchus' eyes turned cloudy and he turned them down. "But, yes...we're in trouble. The Ronins are still together, apparently. Lord Talpa truly failed. Lady Peisinoe is not gonna be happy about this at all." He shook his head and smoothed his pale, platinum hair down onto his neck. Ash nodded stiffly.  
  
"Fine. We must make our report. Get out of that form and we'll go through the gate together." Malchus bit his lip and clenched his fist. Within minutes, his legs were gone and in their place was his beautiful, long greenish reptilian tail. The telltale markings of his race and rank practically painted themselves onto what still appeared to be human skin, now a slight blue color. Ash half smiled, enjoying watching his comrade's transformation. Complete with the process, Malchus looked back up at Ash, the slightest trickle of dark blood on his bottom lip. Ash's gut wrenched a moment, recalling the miraculous metamorphosis always caused the Nix pain.  
  
"Are...you all right?" Ash asked. Malchus waved his hand in a dismissing fashion.  
  
"Just fine. Let's go." **************************************************************************** ** "Milady..."  
  
Kayura grit her teeth in frustration. This was the fifth time she'd been interrupted this morning alone. All she wanted was an hour or so to herself for quiet meditation. But, no...  
  
"Who, and what, is it?" She sighed, turning towards her door. She was a little surprised to see Sekhmet kneeling there, waiting for her permission to enter. She had observed time and time again that Sekhmet despised to be around her and that he cared very little for her teachings and the ways of her people. What could he possibly want?  
  
"Milady Kayura, I have something I have to tell you. Privately." Sekhmet said, his lidded eyes burning. There was a war going on inside his mind again, and whatever kept him sane for the most part was losing.  
  
"Um, come in..." Kayura said and waited for her pupil to take his seat beside her. Sekhmet nodded, rose and closed her door. He moved slowly and gracefully sat cross-legged in front of her. "What do you need to tell me?" Kayura asked. Sekhmet closed his eyes and bowed his head, letting his acid green bangs fall over his nose, shading his eyes. He waited before answering. It appeared he was listening for something, but Kayura was baffled as to what.  
  
"There has been activity in a particular area that concerns me, the small underwater village of Uzume. I have a very dear friend there and he has been telling me the people are readying for a rebellion of sorts. It's not just Uzume, either. There are over thirty other small villages coming together for this. Three individuals are leading them. I know only one of them at the moment, but I'm working on finding the identity of the other two." Sekhmet reported quietly, keeping his head bent. This behavior was thoroughly confusing Kayura, and she shook her head.  
  
"Wait...what? What are talking about? What sort of rebellion? Against us? I thought the people were happy after Talpa was defeated. They have no reason to rebel..." Kayura muttered. Sekhmet smirked, but kept his eyes down.  
  
"Yes, Milady. Do you want to hear the rest?" He asked. Kayura clicked her tongue and nodded.  
  
"Continue."  
  
Sekhmet rose to his feet, surprising Kayura yet again, and he walked towards the door.  
  
"The one leader I do know of is named Peisinoe. She's a siren, and comes from Uzume. I hear that she was the daughter, or some relative, of the former Governor. She's a very passionate young lady, and very powerful. She holds a strong hatred for you particularly." Sekhmet smiled and slid the door open. Kayura blinked, dumbfounded. It was a good five minutes or so before she reacted.  
  
"Peisinoe...a siren...rebellion..."  
Underword (or whatever this is): Confusing, huh? I'm working as hard as I can to try to make the second chapter sound at least a little better. Blargh. Please, if you're going to review, only constructive criticism, please? 


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